Pubdate: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 Source: Kansas City Star (MO) Copyright: 2000 The Kansas City Star Contact: 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108 Feedback: http://www.kansascity.com/Discussion/ Website: http://www.kcstar.com/ Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n858/a11.html FINALLY, POLICE HERE DECIDE TO FOLLOW DRUG-MONEY LAW It took far too long, but the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners finally has come down on the right side in the issue over drug-seizure money. The board has ordered the Police Department to obey the Missouri law that directs law-enforcement agencies to turn over most money and property seized in drug cases to education. The board's example of following the statute should be a model for all police departments in Missouri -- and elsewhere. Members of the police commission took another positive step in their meeting on Thursday. They decided not to contest a lawsuit brought by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon over $3.5 million in cash and property held by the Police Department. By law, which the department now will follow, the assets should have gone to public education. Even though the issue appears to have been resolved in Kansas City, some law enforcement agencies in Missouri are not complying fully with the forfeiture law. This evasion is depriving schools of their rightful share of drug-related seizures. State Sen. Harry Wiggins, a Kansas City Democrat, told the police commission in a letter Monday that he would reintroduce legislation in the 2001 General Assembly to force law enforcement to conform to the law. He sponsored an identical measure this year. It passed the Senate but was rejected in the House in the final minutes of the session. "I cannot believe the highly respected law-enforcement agencies in Missouri would want to become involved in a questionable scheme of asset forfeiture after drug seizures either by evading what Missouri law intends or through some devious process diverting funds through the federal law to controvert Missouri law," Wiggins told the board, adding there may be some confusion in interpreting the statute. Wiggins summed up the problem that has marred the credibility of law enforcement in Missouri. An investigation by The Kansas City Star revealed that police have been sending seized assets to a federal law-enforcement agency. This agency then transfers part of the assets back to the police. That practice skirts the state law that requires the assets be used mainly for education, not law enforcement. A conflict of interest occurs when law enforcement directly benefits from asset seizures. Law enforcement, by evading the law, has placed itself in an embarrassing and untenable position. It is forcing action to get the General Assembly to require taxpayer-supported agencies to follow state law. That is incredible. No law-enforcement agency should defy the law in this way. The General Assembly, with the leadership of Wiggins, should take any action necessary to mandate compliance with the drug-seizure law. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D